Cowgills in America

In Jun 1682 a family of Cowgills were named on the Settle Certificate (transcript below), signaling their intention of emigrating to America with a group of Quakers. In Sep 1682, Ralph Cowgill, a son of Ellen Cowgill, arrived in America on the ship "Friends' Adventure" as an indentured servant to Randall Blackshaw, subsequently his father-in-law. The following month four of Ralph’s siblings, and possibly his mother, arrived in America on the ship "The Lamb" of Liverpool. By 1870, if not earlier, census records show there were more Cowgills in America than in the UK. Nearly every Cowgill in America today is descended from two of Ellen's three sons, John or Ralph, Edmund's male line apparently dying out in the mid-1800s. There are also other Cowgill families in America descended from immigrants from the UK who arrived beginning in the 1850s. These are described here as "later arrivals".

Navigating The Trees

The three tables below outline the primary American tree (Ellen Cowgill's family), the family head for each of the "stray" lines (individuals or a family line that cannot, as yet, be linked to a specific tree), and family heads for "later arrival" Cowgill lines. Clicking on the underlined names will take you to a detailed tree on that line on another page. Once on a page it can be searched by going to your browser's Edit function and selecting Find. There is a complete site search capability on the Home page.

The American Cowgill Family Tree

The American Cowgill family tree presented here is extracted from Cowgill History (now out-of-print) by Beatrice E. Cowgill. The changes and additions to the book's text printed in bold red have been prepared by her son, Perry Cowgill, based partly on notes Beatrice left at her death and partly on his research.

The family tree of most American Cowgills starts with

Ellen Cowgill, b 16??, England, d 16??, PA/NJ (or at sea?). Although much has been written about Ellen (sometimes as Ellin), the only documents proving her existence are the Settle Certificate (see transcript below) and her name on The Lamb of Liverpool's manifest in the British Archives. She does not appear as a witness at any of her children's marriages, so likely died before 1685 (the date of daughter Jane's wedding), and may not have survived the voyage to America. Her death is not listed in son Ralph's Bible record. The probable time of Ellen's marriage and the births of her children coincided with the upheaval of the English Civil War. The researcher Rev Turner (see Research) noted major gaps in the church records during this period.

The widow Ellen Cowgill, with four of her children, left Liverpool for America aboard the ship The Lamb of Liverpool, which loaded 26 Jun 1682 under John Tench (or French), Master, and arrived in the Delaware River on 22 Oct 1682. Ellen's son, Ralph Cowgill, had preceded her, having arrived the 28 Sep 1682 on the ship Friends' Adventure, which had loaded 3 Jun - 4 Jul 1682 at Liverpool under Thomas Wall, Master. Ralph Cowgill traveled as a "servant" to Randall Blackshaw, whose daughter he later married. Ralph's brother, John Cowgill, also traveled as a "servant", but to Cuthbert Hayhurst. The term "servant" refers to an indentured servant, or one who engaged himself to work without pay, usually for four years, in exchange for passage to America. William Penn encouraged these arrangements by guaranteeing all such "servants" a grant of at least fifty acres when their term of service ended. He hoped in this way to secure a class of settlers trained to work for a livelihood. Both John and Ralph Cowgill earned their fifty acres. No record of Ellen's husband has been found, but is now thought to have been Edmund Cowgill who d in 1675.

So what do we know of Ellen? She was listed on the Settle Certificate as a "widow", so her husband had died by 1682. No Cowgills appear in any other surviving Settle Quaker records until the 1850s or on Yorkshire (or other English) Quaker martyr lists*. Ralph's Bible entry gives his date of birth as 1667 in England, the only known birth date among the children, meaning that Ellen's marriage was likely near that year or up to ten years prior. Ellen's most likely husband appears to be Edmund Cowgill, son of Edmund and Jennett Cowgill, born in 1634 and baptized at Thornton in Craven. There is no record of this Edmund's marriage which would have occurred during the Civil War upheaval (the average marriage age for Cowgill men at this time was roughly 25), but there is a record of his daughter Jane's baptism at Thornton in 1664. Note that Ellen Cowgill's known daughter Jane married in 1685 which, if she is the same Jane baptized at Thornton, would make her aged 21 at the time. This Edmund appears on a tax list in 1672 as a householder in Lothersdale near Thornton, and he is almost certainly the Edmund Cowgill buried at Slaidburn church in 1675 (see sketchmap on the Home page). No other Edmund Cowgills appear in any other records in the UK uncovered to date. Unless contrary information is discovered, Edmund was almost certainly Ellen Cowgill's husband, thus linking her descendents in America back to Robert and Richard Cowgill of Thornton in Craven of the late 1500s (see their line at Cowgills in the UK and Elsewhere).

Note: Was Ellen Cowgill a Stackhouse? Almost certainly not. An early Stackhouse history claimed Ellen was a Stackhouse based on the will of Thomas Stackhouse, but several subsequent well-researched Stackhouse histories strongly assert she was not one of them. Further, there were few if any Stackhouses in the area around Thornton in Craven where Ellen very likely married.

* Several Cowgill family trees posted on the internet claim (without source) that Ellen's husband was a Quaker martyr in Holland or England. While he may or may not have been a Quaker, neither he nor any Cowgill is listed in the very extensive Quaker book of martyrs.

Ellen's known children (there may have been others) were Jane, John, Ralph, Jennett, and Edmund, order unknown.

Family of (Edmund? and) Ellen Cowgill. Links take you to the childrens' extended lines.


Family Head			Year Born	Year Died	Known Children/Comments
Ellen Cowgill			16??	????	Jane, John, Ralph, Jennett, Edmund
	Jane Cowgill		1664	1699	(information below this table)
	John Cowgill		16??	1731
		Elizabeth Cowgill	1694	1720/1	data on her father's page
		Thomas Cowgill	1696	<1750	Jane, Ezekiel, Sarah, Rachel, Ellen (Eleanor), Thomas
		John Cowgill	1698	1752	Sarah, Elizabeth, John, Lydia, Clayton, Henry
		Ellen Cowgill	1700	1772	data on her father's page
		Henry Cowgill	1704	1769	Sarah, Rachel, Henry, Lydia, Eleanor, John, Alice
		Rachel Cowgill	1706	1729	data on her father's page
		Mary Cowgill	1708	17??	data on her father's page
		Ebenezer Cowgill	1709	1743	Mary, Rachel, Martha - data on his father's page
		Eleazer Cowgill	1710	1759	Rachel, Elisha, Eleanor, Elizabeth, John, Martha, Eleazer
	Ralph Cowgill		1667	1756
		Abraham Cowgill	1690	17??	John, Sarah, Ralph, Abraham, Nehemiah, Mary, Abraham (2nd), Isaac, Jacob
		John Cowgill	1692	1692	data on his father's page
		Nehemiah Cowgill	1693	1750	Thomas, Sarah, Joseph, Benjamin, Mary
		Sarah Cowgill	1694	1724	data on her father's page
		Rebecca Cowgill	1698	1768	data on her father's page
		Mary Cowgill	1702	1767	data on her father's page
		Isaac Cowgill	1703	1766	George, John, Sarah, Lydia, Jacob, Isaac, Rachel
		Rachel Cowgill	1705	1750	data on her father's page
		Jane Cowgill	1708	1791	data on her father's page
		Jacob Cowgill	1710	1735	data on his father's page
		Susanna Cowgill	1719	1764	data on her father's page
	Jennett Cowgill		16??	17??	(information below this table)
	Edmund Cowgill		16??	<1743	complete tree on his page
		Edmund Cowgill	1703	1703
		Edmund Cowgill	ca 1710	1768	Joseph, Sarah, Margaret, Septime, Elizabeth, Mary
		Elizabeth Cowgill	1718	1772
		Jennet Cowgill	17??	<1760

Jane Cowgill (probably the Jane Cowgill, dau of Edmund Cowgill, bapt 21 Dec 1664 at Thornton in Craven), England, bur 26 Nov 1699, at Neshaminy, Middletown Twp, Bucks Co., PA, m 25 Oct 1685, Nicholas Waln's house, Middletown, PA, Stephen Sands, bur 19 Jan 1733. His will was dated 25 Jan 1731 (probated 15 Feb 1733), and named five children (Richard, John, Elinor, William, and Edmund). Stephen's certificate of removal from Lancaster MM, England, was dated 18 Jun 1682, and stated "he goes with consent of his mother, sister and relatives". It was signed, among others, by Isabella Sands, presumed to be his mother. Stephen Sands was also on "The Lamb" as indentured servant to James Dilworth of Thornbury, Lancashire, England. Stephen m(2) 9 Oct 1701, Elizabeth Norcross. (See page 3, Cowgill History, for more on this family)

Jennett Cowgill b ca 1669/70, England, d before 1715, m (2nd intentions 2 Feb 1688) 1688, Burlington MM, Bernard Lane, d 1715. Bernard's will (dated 25 Jun 1715 at Burlington, NJ, probated 6 Oct 1715) mentions three daughters. (See page 405, Cowgill History, for more on this family)

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The family tree of American Cowgill strays

Note: Two American family lines (Cougill and Cougle) are claimed in various documents as branches of the Cowgill tree. Several actual Cowgill families did adopt the Cougill spelling, but most Cougills in America are NOT descended from Cowgills as proven by DNA testing. A book about Loyalists during the Revolutionary War (New Jersey Volunteers, Loyalists, in the Revolutionary War by William S. Stryker, 1887) lists a John and James Cowgill as members of a NJ Loyalist Regiment, but these were misprints for Cougles, later resettled in New Brunswick. A Daniel Cogill is also listed in Loyalist documents, but is probably a Scottish Cogill, not a Cowgill.

List of Strays (unlinked lines)

Family Head		Year Born	Year Died	Known Children	Comments
George Morris Cowgill		1755/6	1830s	Thomas, Joseph, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, Ann, Acsah, William, Daniel, George, Jane	son of John Cowgill who d 1799?
	Thomas Cowgill	1776	1859	dau, son, dau, Joseph, Martha, George	data on his father's page
	Joseph Cowgill	1778	<1820	Betsy, John Beaty, George, William, Millinda, Clarinda, Almedia	data on his father's page
	Daniel Morris Cowgill	1795	1877	David, Nancy, William, Martha, Daniel Morris Jr, Sarah Ann, Andrew	data on his father's page
	George Cowgill	1797	1860	Henry, George, Mary, Jane, Elizabeth	data on his father's page
Martha Cowgill		1745	1795
Evan Cowgill		1810	1855	William, Martha, Mary, Sarah Jane, Rachel, Marinda, Franklin, James Redman, John	son of a Martha Cowgill?
John H. Cogill		ca 1818	1895	Maria, Franklin, Lilly, Elizabeth, Anna, Harriet, Daniel, Mamie	A Cowgill (per dna test). Son of Thomas?
John Cowguill		17??	1813	Samuel, Lydia, John, William, Martha, James Madison, George Washington	Cowgill or ????
Elisha Choguill		1782	1867	Harriet, Elizabeth, John, William, Samuel, Lydia, Sarah	Cowgill or ????
Arnold Cowgill		1799	1851	son, Elizabeth, Henriette, Arnold, Ann, William, Sophia, Amanda, Charles
Ewing Cowgill		1780s?	ca 1842	James	also as Elisha? In KY & IL
unknown Cowgills		1856	1924		unlinkeds

Note: A George Cougill (sometimes as Cowgill) b ca 1740/1750, place of birth unknown, d ca 1830, Frederick Co., VA, was said by Joseph Ewing Cowgill (in his work on a Cowgill family history) to have fought in the Revolutionary War as a British soldier, surrendered to Gen George Washington at Yorktown (1781), located later in VA, and married there. Joseph thought this George to have been the son of Benjamin, son of Nehemiah Cowgill, which is highly unlikely. In a history of Randolph Co., IN (p 1098, Portrait and Biographical Record of Delaware and Randolph Counties, Indiana, Chicago, A. W. Bowen & Co., 1894), a biographic note on Samuel Morrison Cougill, George's great-grandson, states Samuel came "from an old English family, his great-grandfather having come to Pennsylvania in the days of William Penn, and there died". This must have been family tradition. Descendents of this George used Cougill as their surname, and one descendent in his direct line showed no Cowgill link after dna testing.

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The family tree of American Cowgill "later arrivals"
Note: The UK originating family tree of most of these families or individuals is known (see Cowgills in the UK and Elsewhere).

List of "Later Arrivals"

Family Head		Year Born	Year Died	Known Children	Comments
Abram (Abraham) Cowgill		1826	1907	Annie (Emma), William, Thomas, Mark, George, John, Abraham, James, Martha, Timothy, Daniel, Joseph, Mary, Robert, Dennis, Nora, Edward	immigrated 1855 to WI;son of John Cowgill bapt 31 May 1778
John Edmondson Cowgill		1830	1898	Walter, George, Gilmore, Arthur, Jane, Susannah, William, John	immigrated ca 1865; lived in NJ/PA; son of John Cowgill b 22 Apr 1804
	Walter Cooke Cowgill	1858	1945	Eliza, Randolph (Ralph) Fritz
	George John Cowgill	1861	????	Eliza, George, Lillian
Charles (Harry) Frederick Cowgill		1868	1943	Phillip (?), Ivy, Leo, Harry, Mildred, Ethel	immigrated Canada 1909; son of Henry Marshall Cowgill b 8 Sep 1844
Martha Cowgill, widow of William		1871	????	Ann, Henry, Margaret, Winifred, Alexander, Mary, Monica, William	immigrated 1927 to MA; husband was son of Henry Marshall Cowgill (above)
Benjamin Cowgill		1840	1896	William (1st), Susan, Eva, William (2nd), Susannah, John, Thomas, Maude, George, Earnest, Walter	immigrated 1882 to MA; son of John Cowgill b 8 Mar 1816
Jowett Cowgill		1832	1895	Tom, Mary	immigrated 1894 to MA; brother to John, father of Benjamin (above)
Benjamin Rangdale Cowgill		1855	1914		nephew of Jowett
Hill Cowgill		ca 1803	1881	Senaith, Mary, Betty, James, Ann, Rose Hannah	visited US 1860s;one child & 2 grandchildren immigrated
Isaac Cowgill		1852	1917	John, Thomas, Hannah, Annie, James	immigrated 1872 to ME;brother of Joseph Cowgill (below)
Joseph Cowgill		1847	1885	Hannah, infant dau	immigrated ca 1880 to MA;distant cousin of Harold B. Cowgill
John Arthur Cowgill		1878	1965	John Arthur Cowgill Jr	immigrated 1900 to Albany, NY;sister Hilda also immigrated
Ingham Cowgill		1838	1922	James (1st), Ann, William, Mary, Maria, Jane, Ruth, Fred, James (2nd)	immigrated 1904 to Canada;cousin of Thomas (below)
Thomas Cowgill		1844	????	Harry, Garnett, Alice, Mabel	immigrated 1880 to MA;son of Henry Cowgill b ca 1815
Crosley Cowgill		1849	1900	Miriam, Samuel, Ida	immigrated 1880 to MA;brother of Thomas Cowgill (above)
James Wilkinson Cowgill		1853	1915	Thomas, James	immigrated 1881 RI;son of Thomas Cowgill bapt 3 Jun 1832
Simpson Cowgill		1885	1983	Helen, Jack	immigrated 1923 NJ;nephew of James Wilkinson Cowgill
Seth Cowgill		1868	????	George, Anna, Elizabeth, Wilfred	immigrated 1905 to MA
George Henry Cowgill		1887	1960	Dorothy, Edna, Clara, Marie	immigrated 1910 Canada;1914 US (MI);son of Sarah Ann Cowgill b 1864
Richard Cowgill		1869	1930s	Jane, William, Ethel, Richard, Lena, Henry, James, John, Walter	immigrated 1893 RI;son of Levi Cowgill b 5 Jun 1834
James Cowgill		1837	1908	William, George	immigrated ???? to RI;son of John Cowgill b 19 Aug 1788
Robert Cowgill		1847	<1920	Septimus Cowgill	immigrated 1880 to MA;son of Margaret Cowgill b ca 1926
John O. Cowgill		1846	>1930		immigrated ???? TX;family unknown
James Cowgill		1854	????	Sarah, Herbert	immigrated ??? to MA
Fred Cowgill		1875	????	Edith, Ida, Leonard, Cecil, Alberta, Horace, Mildred, Ella, Ruby, Eastman	immigrated 1924 to Canada
Joseph Eastwood Cowgill		1883	1955	unknown	immigrated 1909 to Canada
John Arthur Cowgill		1887	1966	John, Sydney, Muriel, Reginald, Irene	immigrated 1919 Canada;1923 US (MI);son of Jonathan and Martha Catton Cowgill
John James Cowgill		1863	1897	James, Mary, John	immigrated 1892 Canada (Victoria, BC);son of James Cowgill b 29 Aug 1831
John Steven Noel Cowgill		1893	1971	Harry	immigrated Canada (Alberta)

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The Settle Certificate

In order to escape the persecution of Quakers prevalent in England at the time, several Quaker families from the Slaidburn area emigrated to America, sailing from Liverpool in 1682 on The Lamb as part of William Penn's fleet to colonise the area now known as the State of "Pennsylvania". It appears that most of the families aboard the "Lamb" were originally from the Slaidburn area and were probably members of meetings held in private houses around the area. They joined with other families who were members of the Settle Monthly Meeting to obtain a certificate of removal now known as "The Settle Certificate".

dated the 7th of the 4th month 1682 (7 Jun 1682)
(from a copy in PA Historical Society records - there are other copies that vary slightly)

These are to certifie all whom it may concern that it is manifested to
us that a necessitiy is layed upon severall friends belonging this
Monthly Meeting to remove into pensilvania & particularly our dear
friend Cuthbert Hayhurst (his wife and family) who has been and is a la-
bourer in the truth for whose wellfare and prosperity we are unanimous-
ly converned and also our friends Thomas Wrigglesworth and Alice
his wife; Thomas Walmsley Elizabeth his wife; Thomas Croasdale,
Agness his wife & six children, Thomas Stackhouse & his wife, Nich-
olas Waln, his wife & three children; Ellen Cowgill widow & her child-
ren; & W^m Hayhurst who we believe are faithfull friends in their
measures & single in their intentions to remove into y^e aforesaid pen-
silvania in America there to inhabit it if ye Lord permit, & we do testifie
unity with their said intentions & desire their prosperity in y^e Lord &
hopes what is done by them will lead to ye advancement of the truth
in which we are unanimously concerned with them.

Samuel Watson       George Atkinson         Francis Tennant
John Moore, Jr         George Bland             John Hall
Nicholas Franklin       John Driver               Thomas Rudd
Anthony Overend   Ch. Jonson

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Notes:

The page numbers in the left margin correspond to the original page numbers in Cowgill History. Note that subsequent research, explained in the text, has resulted in several reorderings.

Bolded red text is used to show differences from the original text in Cowgill History.

Old style Quaker dates (e.g., 7d 8m 1671) have been converted to standard style (e.g., 7 Oct 1671).

Since this is a Cowgill family tree (and to keep the size manageable), the only surnames other than Cowgill or a variant thereof contained in the files will be those of spouses and in-laws. This explains gaps in the page numbers.

Where there are conflicts regarding dates, places, people, the multiple data are presented and flagged as such.

Given the number of entries, adding source data for each one would have greatly expanded the file and made it much less readable. Therefore, many of the entries are not footnoted or sourced, so please verify the information of interest. Consult the Research page for a general guide, or send us a query on a particular item.

Caution! While much of the information in the trees has been obtained from original records, in many other cases the information is from sources such as other researchers, internet sites, books, etc., that might be in error. If you are using this information to construct your own tree, please go back to the original records to confirm details.

This is a very extensive family tree, but it is definitely NOT the final word. There are certainly source documents on Cowgills as yet uncovered that would further refine the trees. Please send us any corrections, additions, and suggested changes.

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Abbreviations:
(many of these are Quaker-specific terms)

Arch - archives
b       - born, date of birth
bapt - baptized or christened
bur    - buried, place of burial
Co.    - County
con mcd   - condemned for misconduct, Quaker record notation
con mou   - condemned for marrying out of unity
d   - died, date of death
dau      - daughter
div   - divorced
dis   - dismissed, Quaker record notation
FBG      - Friends Burying Ground
Friends - Religious Society of Friends; Quakers
gct   - given certificate to, Quaker record notation
glt      - given leave to, Quaker record notation
JP    - Justice of the Peace
m   - married, date of marriage
M.E.      - Methodist Episcopal church
MG       - Minister of Gospel
MH       - Meeting House
MM   - Monthly Meeting, Quaker church congregation
mcd    - married contrary to discipline, Quaker record notation
mou    - married out of unity; Quaker married a non-Quaker
recf      - received certificate from, Quaker record notation
rocf      - received on certificate from, Quaker record notation
rpd mis   - reprimanded for misconduct, Quaker record notation

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